The Power Of Goodbyes (The Hidden Treasures In Pain)

I used to think goodbyes are the most painful thing in the world. I hated airports and trips that end and friends that move away and lovers that leave. I hated everything about goodbyes and for the longest time I thought there is nothing pretty or enlightening about them. Until I realized that goodbyes hold a powerful message. A message of transformation, a message of change, and a message of hope.

Goodbyes force us to start over.

They give us a chance to redeem ourselves, and forget who we once were. They force us to find new qualities within us, they force us to expand our horizons, they allow us to grow and focus on doing things better next time and let go of our attachment to the past or what could have been.

Goodbyes remind us that nothing is guaranteed.

We may think that certain things will never change and certain people will never leave, only to realize that sometimes they do. Goodbyes remind us that we should never take anything for granted because no matter how sure we are of something today, we still don’t know what tomorrow will bring and how it can turn our lives around.

Goodbyes can save us from further suffering.

We often firmly cling to things that are not right for us or people who treat us poorly. We choose to stick to what we are familiar with because we’d rather suffer than change. But goodbyes can help us save ourselves from self-destruction and teach us to let go of situations that are detrimental to our mental and emotional well-being.

Goodbyes can help us find our inner strength.

When we look back on how we got over the painful goodbyes in our lives, we will realize that we survived, we smiled again, we tried again and we never gave up on ourselves. The ways we dealt with every goodbye and how we found the courage to stand up again after hitting rock bottom make us feel invincible.

Goodbyes can prompt us to find meaning in our lives.

When we realize that we can’t depend on others for our happiness, and that life doesn’t revolve around anyone, we are more motivated and driven to dedicate our lives to a more significant purpose, touch more lives and look at the bigger picture. We start thinking of what we are going to leave behind and what we want to be remembered for.

Goodbyes bring new hellos.

Even though it sounds like a cliché, it is true. When we are ready to embrace new opportunities and new people, they start to magically appear in our lives and then every goodbye will make sense to us and we will be glad that we turned that page.

“There comes a day when you realize turning the page is the best feeling in the world, because you realize there’s so much more to the book than the page you were stuck on.” –Zayn Malik.